


Crickit

by Watergirl1968



Series: Eremin Week II [4]
Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Canon Divergence, Eremin - Freeform, Eremin Week, Explicit Sexual Content, Fluff and Feels, Horses, M/M, Spanking, consensual domination, erenxarmin - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-05-23
Updated: 2014-07-08
Packaged: 2018-01-26 06:22:11
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 10,053
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1677971
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Watergirl1968/pseuds/Watergirl1968
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The horses liked Eren. His hands were steady, his movements predictable, and he had an easy, unhurried manner with them. He fed them scraps of apple and carrot, blowing gently onto their snouts so they could scent him. </p><p>The horses did not call him monster or freak or burden. They did not whisper behind his back. They just accepted him. So he volunteered for stable duty whenever he could, and when the shadows in the muster yard grew long and orange in the evening, he would groom them, talk to them, lean into their necks and breathe in their warm, rich scent.</p><p>In Eren's stall, which had stood empty for two weeks, was the dapple grey mare. Her dark eyes watched him steadily, without showing their whites in fear. She had a white blaze and ears, silver mane and a grey muzzle. She was fine-boned and strong.</p><p>He turned and looked at Commander Smith "For me?" he asked.</p><p>The dapple grey mare leaned out of her stall, nibbling at Eren's collar. "She likes you," Erwin said simply.  "Her name is Cricket."</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Replacements

**Author's Note:**

> This is the story of what happens when Armin, who has been Erwin's right-hand man, switches mentors with Eren, who is Captain Levi's protegé.
> 
> The love story is Eren and Armin's...however, in this tale, Erwin and Levi are also in a relationship. It's not front & centre to the story, but it's happenin'.
> 
> Canon U with divergences...Eren and Armin are 19.
> 
> There is an OC named Cricket, who is a horse.

No one wanted to go into the stables. The three empty stalls, with their uneaten hay and their neatly folded blankets were just too painful to look at. It was Sasha who finally, risking ridicule and reprimand, hung a little bouquet of sunflowers above each stall. The mice ate these, but that was okay.

The new stock arrived from Kampura a week later. Six fine mounts; four males and two large, graceful females. Among them was a dapple grey mare, three years old. Eren and Sasha were both assigned to feed, water and begin working with the new arrivals.

The horses liked Eren. His hands were steady, his movements predictable, and he had an easy, unhurried manner with them. He fed them scraps of apple and carrot, blowing gently onto their snouts so they could scent him. 

The horses soothed Eren. He was combat-frayed, wary, and sometimes ill-at-ease among his peers. At nineteen, he'd already been held hostage, stuck with needles, probed, scraped, burned and bound. He'd seen his own limbs get chewed to pieces and then regenerate themselves.

The horses did not call him monster or freak or burden. They did not whisper behind his back. They just accepted him. So he volunteered for stable duty whenever he could, and when the shadows in the muster yard grew long and orange in the evening, he would groom them, talk to them, lean into their necks and breathe in their warm, rich scent.

Commander Smith took his time in getting to know the replacements. He did some shuffling based on temperament, size and experience, and thus Levi's squad trouped into the stables one afternoon in autumn to meet their new or reassigned mounts. In Eren's stall, which had stood empty for two weeks, was the dapple grey mare. Her dark eyes watched him steadily, without showing their whites in fear. She had a white blaze and ears, silver mane and a grey muzzle. She was fine-boned and strong.

He turned and looked at Commander Smith "For me?" he asked.

The dapple grey mare leaned out of her stall, nibbling at Eren's collar. "She likes you," Erwin said simply.  "Her name is Cricket."

___________________________

Armin felt all of the blood in his body rush into his head. Far below, the ground was carpeted with leaves, red and gold, which he doubted very much would do anything to break his fall.

"I'm…upside down…in a tree…" he said to no one in particular as there was no one in the vicinity. "I'm nearly twenty, and I'm tangled up, in a tree, upside _down_ , with my wires wrapped around my ankle and…oh, _nice_ …and there goes my knife…" which slipped from it's sheath and fell, clinking and bouncing off branches as it went. Armin squeezed his eyes shut. When he opened them, he was staring into Levi's hard, storm-grey pupils, upside down and inches from his face.

Levi regarded his snared underling impassively. Armin grinned weakly. A hand shot out, grabbing him roughly by the collar. Brought him nose to nose.

Levi shook his head, managing to cram a fortnight's worth of disgust into one word which he spat out: "….....Why?"

"I-I-I-I…"

"This happens," Levi hissed, "because you live your life on paper and can't be bothered with what is right _here_ , and right _now_."

Levi released Armin, who swung around a little, now caught in his jacket.

"Stupid brat."

____________________________

Sasha and Eren decided to work through their furlough so that the new horses' integration process would not be interrupted. They got a notebook and began dating the pages and keeping records for each horse. Despite the creativity they employed in terms of spelling, the notebook held it's fair share of useful observations. Sasha was also developing a fondness for both raw apples and raw carrots.

The day before roll call, Eren brought in some paint and some lengths of cedar, which he cut into foot-long signboards. He fastened a signboard to the front of each stall by drilling a hole in the board and hanging it from a brass hook. On his horse's signboard, in Survey Corps green paint, he carefully lettered the name, CRICKIT.

They mucked out, swept, whitewashed and polished until everything shone. Sasha talked. About cabbage soup and horse buggies, about snowfalls, puppies, candied yams and fucking. Connie had given her a little silver ring, with a citrine in it, the winter before. When she talked about Connie, her eyes shone. She never criticized Eren. Nor did she ask him questions he couldn't answer. 

It just so happened that Captain Levi was first to arrive the morning after they'd cleaned. He walked slowly up and down the stalls, keen eyes taking in every detail. He nodded to himself from time to time. Then he stood very still in the middle of the bright, orderly barn. He smiled.

_____________________________

That evening, Sasha and Eren were ordered to Commander Smith's office. Erwin rose, coming around his desk and sitting on it's edge.

"At ease," he said kindly to them.

On his desk was the horse journal, titled _'Horse Notes by Eren Jaeger and Sasha Blouse'_.

"I have yet to meet," he began, "a soldier as brave, tireless and reliable as the horses we train in this company. And yet they are often overlooked, ignored and sadly even abused. They die in service to the cause and they never complain, nor turn on one another."

"Yes, Danchou." Eren nodded.

"What would you say if I were to make managing the stables a full time assignment for you both?"

Eren's eyes shone, and Sasha clasped her hands together, both nodding eagerly.

"Good. Now then…as you know, there is a loft at either end of the stable, each with a small dormer room. I am requesting that you clear out the clutter and you will each be billeted to one of those dormers. It won't be the warmest of accommodations, but it is private. And the horses will have keepers onsite. And you may treat these as quarters, and you may invite a guest into your billet.

His own room. Eren couldn't believe his ears.

Sasha burst into tears.

 


	2. A Room of His Own

Eren's whitewashed room held a small bed, a wooden washstand with a chipped blue porcelain basin, a beat-up chest for his things, a table and an armchair. It was under the peaked eaves, in the loft at the east end of the stable, so it got the morning sun through a small, round window. To Eren, it was a palace. He and Sasha had been issued three standing orders; that they remain ready-to-arm at all times to protect the premises; that they use only safe lamps to reduce the risk of fire, and that they only host one person at a time - for the horses' sake, the lofts were not to be filled with merrymakers.

As the bugle sounded evening curfew - a sweet, mournful sound - Armin entered the stables. Eren and Sasha had, indeed, revived the barn. The air still held the bite of new whitewash. Someone had polished all of the brass post-caps that topped the stalls, and these gleamed in the soft light of the safe lamps. There was a bin for oats, one for vitamin mix and a third held a bushel of bruised apples that the commissary had rejected.

Armin clucked softly to the resting horses. He walked along the row, touching a nose here and there. He reached Cricket's stall, looked up and saw the signboard announcing her name: CRICKIT. A tender little smile crooked his lips. Beside Cricket's stall, a very curious, nosy brown head poked out.

Armin whistled softly, grabbing the halter and evading the teeth that inevitably wanted to sample his gleaming hair. "Caesar, no, boy!" He giggled, reached into his pocket and pulled out a mint biscuit wrapped in brown paper. 

He didn't hear Eren approach until he was nearly down the ladder leading from the little loft. He looked up. Eren was grinning ear-to-ear, arms spread proudly. "Armin, do you like it?" he gestured around the stable. "Isn't it great?" 

It was on the tip of Armin's tongue to say something about Eren's spelling of Cricket's name. He opened his mouth but, not wanting to dampen the joy that illuminated Eren's face, he simply nodded. "It's perfect Eren. You and Sasha have outdone yourselves."

Eren closed the gap between them, pulling most of Armin into his arms, except for the one crumb-filled hand that Caesar's brown lips would not relinquish. Eren buried his face in Armin's soft hair, reached down and swatted his backside.

"You need to stop giving him biscuits," he admonished, "you'll rot his teeth." He pulled back and said, almost shyly, "Come upstairs?"

Eren carefully extinguished the lamps.

Armin followed Eren up the wide ladder and into the small room, where a single light burned. "Do-do you want to sit down?" Eren gestured, amazed to even have a room in which to invite someone to sit.

Armin read for a little while in bed, wire-rimmed glassed perched on his nose. Eren sat up beside him, hunched over their journal, _'Horse Notes by Eren Jaeger and Sasha Blouse'_. He made a note inside to check Caesar's teeth, glancing up surreptitiously to see if Armin could see.

Armin slowly turned a page. He had pulled his pale hair into a loose tail, from which most of it was escaping anyway. Rather than just sleeping in underwear and undershirt, he wore a crisp nightshirt, grey flannel with pale yellow piping, buttoned up to the top, and it looked to Eren as though it might have even been pressed. Under the nightshirt would be matching grey flannel drawers. He looked modest, even demure.

Eren's cock twitched. He shifted on the bed. Closed his book. Armin's eyes traversed his page, as though committing the last snippet to memory. He shut his volume as well, just as Eren crawled on top of him, gently pushing him backward against the bed fleece. 

Armin removed his glasses at the same moment Eren said, in Levi's voice, "Your reading glasses, Commander Pixis. You must have dropped them," and they both dissolved into fits of laughter.

_____________________________

Eren was at peace. It had been so very long since he had experienced the kind of satisfaction that managing the stable had brought him. Indeed, his late teens had been for the most part a legacy of pain and disappointment. Armin lay still and quiet, watching him. Taking a finger, Eren traced the arch of first one fine blond eyebrow, then the other. He gazed into his lover's sea blue eyes, then very slowly, lowered his head, brushing Armin's lips with his own. He raised his head again. Armin's eyes locked with his, neither of them speaking, but Armin's breathing deepened and he pressed his hips up against Eren's. 

Eren ran a hand lightly across Armin's chest, soft flannel and prim buttons under his fingers. He bent his head again, kissing Armin slowly and carefully, his tongue coaxing the fine lips apart, delicately, as though Armin were a precious stone he was afraid of cracking. His tongue slid against the soft silk of Armin's, who had begun to rock rhythmically up against him. Eren deepened the kiss. Armin's coltish legs parted, allowing Eren to grind gently against his groin.

"That's it," Eren whispered. It was a low, gentle tone meant only for Armin's ears. Their lips parted, barely maintaining contact, tongues swirling, caressing. 

"Look at you," Eren breathed against Armin's lips.

"Hmmm…"

"In this sweet little shirt…"

Armin whimpered.

Eren was throbbing exquisitely. "Such a good boy, all buttoned up."

Armin broke the kiss, gasping raggedly.

Eren's voice thickened, "S-so innocent, so sweet…but you," he teased, " _God_ , you want it. You want it… _so fucking bad_ …don't you?"

"Uh huh," Armin panted against his mouth.

Eren was warming to the game…"H-how bad?" He reached under the flannel and slid his hand into Armin's drawers, fingers grazing the silky, hot skin he found there. Armin whined deliciously.

Eren tugged on the waistband, skimming the flannel undergarment down Armin's legs. Armin reached to pull off his nightshirt, but Eren stopped him.

"Oh, no.." he smiled, "Keep it on…you look so sweet in that…God, Armin…"

Eren shucked his sleep pants and tee, rolling back on top of Armin and pushing the flannel up to his chest, exposing the lithe, pale length of Armin's body. Armin shuddered as their naked bodies connected, Eren's erection rubbing hotly against his own.

"W-what…do you want me to?…" he asked.

"J-Just like this," Eren gasped.

Armin lay beneath Eren in Eren's wooden bed, skin hot and fair hair sticking to his cheeks, arching greedily into the friction as Eren ground against him. He felt Eren's fingers close around both their cocks, coated with slick and he spread his legs wide, incoherent moans spilling from his lips. Eren moved erratically now, his tanned, muscular body taut, lips open against Armin's throat, which he had suckled, leaving red bruises, marking his boy.

Eren's fingers moved deliciously, thumbs circling over their heads spreading precum, faster and faster until Eren cried out and Armin felt the hot splash against his small belly, pulling him along, the pleasure coming in stabs. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry" he sobbed, worried that he was messing Eren's new bed with it's blue wool coverlet.

The last thing he remembered, watching the sky through the small round window was Eren nuzzling him…"Love you baby….love you…"

 


	3. Mithras

The morning was fresh and cold. Captain Levi's squad stood at attention inside the stable, soldiers lined up with their mounts. With the addition of the new horses, the squad was finally complete again. Sasha reached up to stroke the nose of Saffy, short for Saffron, a beautiful roan-coloured boy that was hers now. As Levi approached, her hand snapped back to her side.

Levi issued orders to the seven soldiers under his command. "Springer. Bott. You will meet Squad Leader Hanji on the wall today. Kirschstein, Mikasa, Eren, Sasha. You will come with me to the blister."

The blister was a building project, the first of it's kind. The Survey Corps engineers were erecting a new wall to create a small, semi-circular "blister", jutting off the east face of Wall Rose. The blister extended out into titan territory, reclaiming ground for humanity, for the first time in over a hundred years. Importantly, the reclaimed sector contained a fresh river, which they planned to divert. It was frightening and dangerous work for the builders, and the patrols circled constantly, fending off titans and retreating back into the security of Wall Rose when they proved to be too numerous.

When Levi said nothing further, Armin spoke up.

"Sir?" And me?"

Levi's eyes flicked to Armin impassively. "Don't you and Commander Smith have some paperwork to… _untangle?"_

Armin flushed, eyes on the floor. Levi departed, and they broke rank, readying their mounts. Armin heard a chuckle. His head shot up. Kirschstein of course, making fun of him again. But Jean was snickering at Eren, pointing toward Cricket's stall. A few others whispered.

Armin blanched.

"Jaeger, you dumb shit," Jean snorted. "Don't you know how to spell?"

Eren turned, frowning at Kirschstein in confusion.

"It's Cricket," Jean laughed, "with an 'e'."

Eren turned to look at the signboard. He read it slowly. CRICKIT. His lips tightened, face burning. He looked incredulously at Armin. 

Armin's heart broke. He strode across the hay-strewn floor, closing the space between himself and Jean. 

Kirschstein laughed mimicking Eren, "My horse's name is…"

"Stop it!" Armin slammed both hands into Jean's chest. "You prick! Don't do this to him," he hissed.

"Aw, Armin, he knows I'm just razzing him, eh, Eren?"

"Fuck you!" Armin slammed Jean again, hard enough that the large Recon Sergeant took a step backwards. 

Jean looked down, focusing on Armin. His tone changed entirely. "Back up, Armin."

Armin shoved Jean again. Jean shook his head slowly, eyebrows raised warningly. "Back the fuck up, Arlert."

Marco stepped forward, behind Jean, brown eyes concerned, "Arm, stop…"

"You had to ruin it for him," Armin was shouting at Jean now, shoving harder.

Jean cocked back and swung, his fist landing a hard punch to Armin's jaw. Armin spun, palms landing and slapping on the concrete stable floor. Nobody moved.

Then, stiff with humiliation, Eren stepped over Armin, around Jean, and walked out of his beautiful stable. Mikasa detached herself silently from the wall and followed him.

"Isn't that," Sasha whispered, "how you spell Cricket?"

_________________________________________________

Eren and Levi galloped up a small grassy rise, dressed in splendid autumn gold. The sky above dazzled as blue as…Eren squeezed his eyes shut.

Cricket was powerful, quick and had been well trained in Kampura, even before her sessions with him. She stuck close to Lou's shoulder, allowing Levi's sleek, black mount to dictate direction. Eren urged her on harder, further away from the stable and the fucking mess of a morning.

Levi wheeled, slowing to a trot. He greeted the other three squad leaders with a curt nod, sitting his horse fluidly. They waited for their other three comrades to catch them up.

Captain Levi stroked the glossy black neck of his mount. The horse, hand-picked and given to him by Erwin, was named Louis de Soleil. Everyone just called him Lou.

"Boss," Eren spoke, "How do you spell _Louis de Soleil?"_

Levi looked at him, mouth quirking. "H-o-r-s-e."

________________________________________________

Armin entered the rotunda, a two-storey, domed building made of stone, with a vaulted ceiling. It had once been a chapel, and had somehow weathered the ravages of war and of time, hidden in a forest until the Survey Corps had discovered it while building this detachment. It's domed ceiling was light blue, and had a tableau painted on it. It depicted a blonde, willowy boy, wearing a steel helmet, kneeling and seeming to cuddle yet simultaneously slay a great bull. The boy had blood on his face.

'Mithras' Erwin had told him. 'A soldier's god older than the dawn of time.' Armin fancied that the Mithras depicted in the painting bore a resemblance to himself. He didn't look up at Mithras that morning, having no desire to see himself stab the brave bull.

When the Survey Corps had first happened upon the rotunda, covered in lichens and buried in trees, they had discovered, along with the bull god, a preserved library of books. The first of it's kind discovered by new humanity. The collection of volumes chronicled mankind's history before the titans.

Erwin had commandeered the rotunda, and set about the task of cataloguing it's contents. Armin often assisted him. It was this pursuit that had given Armin insight into the pride Eren must be feeling, refurbishing the stables. He sighed.

"Alexander the Great," Erwin greeted him.

"Darius the Third," Armin replied quickly, pairing the names of two ancient generals they had learned about together in the books.

"Hannibal," said Smith.

"Scipio," was the rejoinder.

"Marcus Aurelius"

"Fuck," sighed Armin, mind going blank.

Erwin tilted his head thoughtfully, noting the state of his assistant. "Is that General Fuck, or Field Marshal Fuck?

"Sorry."

Armin eased into the wooden chair across from Erwin, his swollen lip purple and his cheek cut. Before Erwin could say a word Armin told him, "Kirschstein. And I had it coming, by the way. Everyone saw." And with a heavy heart, he told Commander Smith about his morning.

____________________________________

The blister team had gone out clean, but had encountered action and was returning bloodied. They had engaged two gangly, aggressive three-metre monsters, messy kills, and a huge, slow-moving beast, arms disjointed and akimbo. Eren and Sasha had the job of settling the skittish, foaming, agitated horses. The two stable managers moved quickly and nimbly around the barn, laving the horses, ridding them of the stench, and the blood.

Eren looked up to see Jean Kirschstein. Over one shoulder, Kirschstein carried a length of good rubber hosing, with a brass join at each end. He placed it onto the ledge of Cricket's stall, offering it to Eren, by way of apology.

"You can make a siphon, for the pump," he said. "Get waterflow into the barn." Then, "Sorry, Jaeger." He sighed. "Guess I'd better go to Levi and get my reprimand for decking your boy."

Eren nodded, clapping a hand to Jean's broad shoulder. That was all.

__________________________________

The safety lamps cast moon-yellow pools onto the whitewashed walls of the stable. Inside, it was warm. Armin leaned against Caesar's nose and kissed it. The two of them had just come in from exercise, as Caesar had not been on assignment that day. Looking up, Armin saw Cricket's dark eyes watching him keenly. Her signboard was gone. "Were you a good girl today for our Eren?" he asked her quietly. He broke off a little piece of mint biscuit and gave it to Caesar, who snorted happily.

He turned to find Eren watching him. Despite all of the things he had rehearsed to say to his lover, talking their way through this felt like picking through a stony stream, barefoot. His throat closed, aching.

"If you keep abusing his teeth, I will have him taken away from you," Eren said evenly.

Armin felt his hackles rise. Things were not okay…far from it.

Eren turned, climbed the ladder and went into his room. Taking a shaky breath Armin followed. Eren stood with his back to Armin, looking out of the little round window.

"Eren, please…" Armin began quietly.

Eren turned to face him, both palms held out, voice jagged, cutting off whatever supplication Armin was mustering.

"How?" he said hoarsely "How could you not _say something_ before everyone saw that? I mean - what would have been so wrong with 'Hey Eren, you need to fix your sign'?" Eren's voice broke. "Crick- _it_ ," he spat bitterly. "What were you thinking, Armin? _Poor, cute, stupid Eren?"_ To Armin's alarm, hot tears spilled down Eren's lovely face. 

"No," Armin wailed. "You aren't stupid! Oh, Walls, Eren…I was going to. But then…in the face of all the wonderful work you had done…it just seemed so…so petty to mention. I'm so sorry..."

Eren looked away. A tear fell, splashing onto his strong tanned hand. Angrily, he dashed at his eyes. Sat on the bed. After a while he said quietly, "I need to figure some things out."

"About?"

"About everything. About how a 'monster' is supposed to try and make a good man's life for himself…war or no war."

He stood up. "I need some time, pixie. To think. Okay?" 

"Okay," Armin's voice was soft and reluctant. Eren reached for him, enfolding him gently, kissing the swollen purple lip softly. "You dumb little shit," he said softly. "Why'd you wind him up like that?"

Armin sighed. "Frustration. Because I'm tired of being tangled up in trees, I guess."

 


	4. Mentors I

Corporal Marco Bott was placed in charge of the blister patrol assignment the following day. Eren Jaeger was ordered to report to Commander Smith. Jean Kirschstein was assigned latrine duty for slugging Arlert. Armin Arlert was told to gear up, saddle Caesar and wait in the muster yard. Unsure of what to expect, Armin was nonetheless surprised when Captain Levi, on Louis de Soleil, trotted into the yard.

"Come with me. Stay close." was all the greeting Armin got before Levi wheeled and spurred Lou out of the yard. They rode along a dried streambed, around a rise to where an escarpment jutted out of the landscape, huge old trees clinging to it. Levi directed them up the escarpment and into the forest, where the green canopy filtered the light and everything smelled spongy and wet.

"Dismount."

Armin's imagination was running amok; obviously Levi had called him here to have him survey something, record information, _slit his throat and leave him for dead._

He slid off of Caesar, wrapping the reins around a young tree. Levi walked a few paces down the path, turned and peeked out of the trees, over the edge of the escarpment to where the dry riverbed wound like a bleached snake.

"When the blister is finished," Armin remarked, the river we reclaim will flow down this tributary…" he trailed off, watching Levi. The man was not tall, but was a composition of perfect, sinuous lines, to scale. His fine-boned face was haunting, saved from angelic by the heavy-lidded, calculating grey eyes. _Napoleon Bonaparte_ , thought Armin. He was also, underneath his fastidious dress, feral, urbane, streetwise. _Marquis de Sade. Jack the Ripper…_

"…and therefore you hear nothing." At what point had Levi come to stand face-to-face with him?

"Sir, sorry?"

"This is worse than I thought." Levi said shortly. "Why are we here?"

"Why-uh…well…we're here…because…" Armin stammered when nervous; a trait he loathed in himself, "Sir, is this about my mistake last mission? Because I can explain that, I - "

"No."

Well, then Armin was fresh out of ideas.

"It's about you." Levi said. "You don't have what you need."

Armin found himself reflexively hugging his ribs. He'd been dragged all the way out here to – what? To be discharged? Was he finally being cut from the herd, to strengthen it? He looked back at Levi, with almost a glare.

"I see."

"You don't see shit."

"I don't have what the Survey Corps needs. There's a level of combat proficiency I'll never have because I'm too small, too weak to be effective."

"You aren't small. The picture of you in your _head_ is small," Levi took a step closer. "Do you look up when you address me anymore? Non. I'm pretty sure you look right into my eyes now. Perhaps even down a little." He grabbed Armin's wrist. "Bigger hands than mine. Longer bones. You don't need bulk to be powerful. We have much in common, you and I."

A long pause. Armin pondered. The tension between himself and Levi had been there since the Pearl Oasis Hotel. "Permission to speak, Sir?"

Levi nodded.

"This is about what happened inside Sina, isn't it? At the hotel. When you…when you caught Eren and I. And gave me back my," looking straight at the ground, "my soiled sock. Sir, it was not Eren's fault that we were in Commander Pixis' suite. I broke the Commander's trust and brought Eren there. Just to _show it_ to him. Then things just got carried away. We got lucky,"

Because Armin was staring at the moss, he missed the amusement which quirked Levi's features at the turn of phrase.

"…got lucky to be out of there with no issues. End of. I'm sorry we snuck away and you didn't know where Eren was, when you were assigned to safeguard him."

"Oh," Levi closed the gap between them, crooking one finger under Armin's pointed chin and raising the boy's head. "Be very, very clear on something. I always… _always_ know where Eren Jaeger is. I see him. I sense him. I feel him in my bones. I knew where you both were. I know what you did. Dot Pixis may not have heard you, oh, but I did."

Armin's blue eyes continued to meet Levi's bravely, although his chest rose and fell like a trapped mouse's. Abstractly, it occurred to him that the common tongue might not be Levi's first, or only language. Something about how he bundled phrases together.

"And no valet let me into that room, either. I know that hotel's halls, it's servant tunnels, it's steamboiler room, it's passages. I lived underneath that fine hotel for a year, eating the scraps that men like Dot Pixis threw away. I let myself in to see that Eren was safe. He was. I let myself out. But not before your little foot kicked a sock onto the carpet, right under the Commander's nose. So yes, in a way this is all about a sock."

Levi backed away a step, "But not exactly in the way you think. I know you, Armin. You are awkward, overly careful and by-the-book when you use gear. But your skills are adequate. You are a little fawn and you use that to manipulate. Yet you are also a kind, sweet soul; a kindness I don't quite know what to do with, and you have the heart of a caged lion. I do believe that you would sacrifice yourself for the sake of change.

"And, you belong to Eren," he said softly. "He claims you, loves you, marks you. And you give yourself to him, body and soul. Offer him your throat over and over. It is a sublime thing, submitting oneself totally to another. An act of utter abandon. Like dying a little death…"

Armin sucked in a breath, opened his mouth but no sound came out. Captain Levi had stripped his soul bare, in the green gloom of this forest. _How can Levi know about such things?_

"I watch out not only for Eren, but for all of you. Especially you. Erwin needs you. And…" he cleared his throat, "and you are a good boy, Armin. You deserve something in return. Better tools. It's time to be letting go, once and forever, this foolishness about being weak and small. I am going to give you the thing you want most, and which Eren cannot give to you. I am going to train you in combat, my way. Will you give yourself, just as utterly, to this process?"


	5. Mentors II

Eren Jaeger did not suit the starched lines of a dress uniform. He was a vigorous young man, inclined to the outdoors. His bronzed skin, windburned lips, broad shoulders and large, square hands all spoke to his preference for action over discussion. He sat across from Erwin Smith, regarding his commanding officer with a direct, steady gaze. Eren's clear, bluegreen eyes were too old for his young face. And he did not like being played.

For the past five years, Eren had been routinely plucked from his duties to be jabbed, burned, scraped, smothered, weighed and measured. The resulting notes often began with the descriptor, 'Titan specimen…'

"Eren," Erwin began, "Let's remain at ease and speak freely today. Thank you for coming. I want to discuss something with you and share some news. It's all positive, and it's all optional. However, I was hoping that, for a change, we could have this conversation in a bit more of a relaxed fashion, if that's okay with you? Can we share some lunch?"

Eren gave a small smile. "Suits me fine," he said, hand immediately popping the infuriating shiny shirt toggles that were cutting off his air supply. He let out a long breath and looked around. He had never been inside Erwin's work room. It held many curiosities.

"Please," Erwin offered, "have a look around. Has Armin told you about our work with the book archive?"

"Some," Eren replied. He rose, walking over to a set of shelves which held tintypes; photo impressions that looked incredibly real. He picked up one, showing a handsome stone home.

"That's my house," Erwin said. 

"Your –"

"Yes," Erwin chuckled. "I know, it's difficult to imagine anyone having a life outside of this compound. I inherited that house when I was twenty-eight. I have dreams for it. I'd like to breed horses, for a start."

The aqua eyes flicked up. He'd caught Eren's interest.

"The last five years have been dark and difficult ones for your squad. It has seemed impossible, pointless really, to consider life beyond base survival. But you know, humanity is one of the very few species able to conceive of hope. Hope is the name we give the path that leads to our desired outcomes."

Eren set the tintype down on the shelf, walking slowly back to his chair.

Erwin continued, fingers steepled, pale eyes gazing through the glazed windows and into the courtyard, "The trouble with hope is that it hurts. It opens our hearts, subjecting us to rage, to tears, to heartbreak, to disillusionment. So we haven't dared to have any hope. For myself," he turned to regard Eren Jaeger, "I would prefer to live with hope and stomach the pain, if grey nothingness is the alternative."

"Do...do they want to do more tests on me? Is that why…"

"Oh, probably. But no, that's not why I've asked you to come. Did you bring your journal?"

Eren handed him _Horse Notes by Eren Jaeger and Sasha Blouse_. Erwin's secretary brought in a tray of ham sandwiches, pickled eggs, mint biscuits and hot tea. Erwin very unceremoniously swiped a sandwich, biting into it as he reviewed Eren's notes, gesturing to Eren to do the same.

Between bites, Erwin asked Eren questions about the entries. Eren knew every measurement, every marking, each diet and every trait of the horses under his care. Erwin flicked through a stack of papers, bringing to light another document; Eren's written final examination from 104th basic training, year 850.

"You were home-schooled? Like most children in Shiganshina?"

Eren's stomach lurched, fearing that this question about his schooling was somehow related to the episode in the barn.  "Yes sir."

"By your father?"

"Actually no. His work kept him very busy. My mother schooled Mikasa and I."

"Yes, that makes sense," Erwin mused. "You write in a similar fashion to Mikasa. Your prose is quite acceptable," he placed the pages on his desk. "You mix up some of your letters. You mis-assign some vowels. These are all things we can improve through training the mind, as one trains a horse on a lead. You are very bright, Eren. I just don't want you deciding that reading or writing challenges indicate a lack of intelligence." He looked at the the young man carefully.

Eren gazed at the paper, at his fifteen-year-old scrawls. The paper began to swim in his view. "Sir,"

Erwin handed Eren a long, slim document. "Can you read this?"

Eren took it. It was a bill of trade for a horse. He frowned, concentrating. "Yes, Danchou, it's a patent. For a horse. Oh, it's Cricket's," he chuckled. "Her breed name is 'River's Sweet Echo'? Damn, that's a mouthful. No wonder she's called Cricket."

"Cricket is worth seven-hundred silver. That's a decent investment. I am signing over this bill of trade to you, Eren. I would like you to have her. Now - before you say anything, please understand why. The Survey Corps has taken much from you. We've ravaged your body and given you a punishing load to carry on very young shoulders. The events of the past five years have made it impossible for you to look to your own future at all. This is the least we can do to start you off.

Eren held the document in his hands, scarcely able to breathe. _His?_ Cricket was to be his?

"You may do as you wish with her," Erwin continued. You can retire her, enlist her to continue working alongside you, or maybe even breed her. And if…down the road you choose to breed her, perhaps you would consider accepting Louis de Soleil as stud. Each foal produced would be worth another eight-hundred silvers."

Erwin rounded his desk, sitting in the empty interview chair beside Eren's. "It could be a good life. Or, it could vanish tomorrow if the tide of the war turns. I would rather live in hope, however."

"I just want," and for the second time in as many days, Eren's eyes brimmed with tears, "a chance to be a decent man, Danchou. That's all." 

Erwin looked at Eren; a hardened veteran and a lost little boy all in one. He placed a steadying hand on Eren's shoulder.

"Well, if you would like to have lunch a little more often, I can offer some help in terms of the academics. And this," he put a heavy volume in Eren's lap," is the last thing I'd like you to consider."

Eren ran his fingers over the book's embossed cover. He read, slowly, "The A-Anatomy of The Horse." 

"Take this book back with you. See if it is helpful. I hold the opinion Eren, that you would make an excellent doctor for the horses one day, if you are patient and commit to study. Gods willing, we'll all see that day. What do you say?"

 


	6. Evening

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In this chapter, we have an interlude with Eruri - they are together in this series but so far they function in a support role to Eren and Armin...just a note for anyone who ships them and might enjoy a tidbit :).

It was not the victories of ancient military generals that held Erwin's Smith's keen attention; it was their weaknesses. Victories sometimes happened by chance; a man's weaknesses, he owned. 

Erwin's dinner table was set in the formal manner of an officers' mess. The white china service bore his personal emblem. He had chosen a full red with a hint of cassis to match the herb-crusted pork loin he planned to serve to his guest.

The table was set for two. 

Erwin was deep in thought, pondering the curious events of the past week, when light footfalls were heard in the vestibule. He heard words being exchanged with his houseman, and then Commander Erwin Smith's weakness walked through the door and into his sitting room.

He turned, smiled, and clasped the neat, small hand that was proffered. He then raised the hand to his lips, brushing a light, slow kiss across the knuckles.

"Commander."

"Captain."

The Captain's dinner dress was immaculate; he wore formal blue-and-whites with a dark, ink-coloured cloak, which he removed and hung carefully. A row of perfect silver toggles striped his shirtfront, from throat to midriff.

Erwin smiled to himself, thinking of Eren Jaeger yanking open his own shirt toggles at the throat, gasping as if he were being suffocated. Or of Armin, engrossed in a book and absently pushing the top button into his mouth and sucking on it.

Levi perused the orderly table awaiting him. 

"Please, sit," Erwin gestured. He leaned over, pouring a finger of red into Levi's glass. The Captain swirled it slowly, tension beginning to ebb from his body.

"You're softening me up," he remarked. Erwin knew full well that the civilized calm of an officer's meal would do just that.

"Perhaps. Then again, it could simply be that I've developed somewhat of an appetite today," the large, elegant hand unfolded the napkin at Levi's place setting, laying it across his lap, grazing his lean thigh. "Shall we?"

By tacit agreement, they habitually drank their first glass of wine in companionable silence, to unwind.

When the meal was served and a second glass offered, Levi huffed quietly, eager to talk about Armin Arlert and seeming to search for words.

"That boy has no…no _innate_ understanding…" he complained. "I have to spell _everything_ out for him." he sipped his wine, turning the glass and watching the light catch in the claret. 

Erwin smiled, leaning back in his chair and regarding Levi. "I was about to make the same observation of Eren, albeit not quite so uncharitably," he commented. A pause before he asked, "And yet, it's going well? With Armin?"

Levi snorted, "Of course it's going well. I'm teaching." 

When Erwin said nothing further Levi asked, "And Eren? What about his reading?" 

"Eren is coming along. He burns to do it. He doesn't know any other way to do things than headlong and headstrong. We've been so focused on the titan aspect that the boy has slipped into manhood. A wonderful young man, and we nearly missed it."

"I did not miss it."

Without wanting to dictate to Levi, and yet afraid to let it go unsaid, Erwin remarked: "In terms of Armin…you can get through to him if you are patient. Coax him."

"Non! No coaxing. We've nearly ruined that boy with coddling. He grows into a man as well, but reacts like a shy child. Do you know what Eren said to me? When I asked Eren why he did not step to his lover's defense during the altercation with Kirschstein? Eren told me that it's about time Armin took a good...what did he say... _smack in the gob_ from one of his fellows. Arlert is a young man now, not a boy. To intercede would have humiliated him."

Levi set about his supper then, with relish.

Erwin selected a bun, broke it in two thoughtfully. He wanted to say something illuminating about the mentoring, but all that came to mind was Sasha Blouse's loud, sweet voice proclaiming, "Hell, there's more'n one way to skin a fox!"

He thought of his young attaché. Armin had been mistaken for his son on more than one occasion. "Levi…Armin is far outside his wheelhouse. Please try and show the boy at least a little kindness? For my sake?"

Levi carefully sliced a piece of tenderloin, transferred his fork from his left hand to his right and replied protectively, "And you. Toward Eren. For me. Please and thank you."

Levi's fine, gamine face was adamant, which only sharpened Erwin's appetite.

_________________________________

Recon Sergeant Jean Kirschstein was having a hell of a night. He had a stuffed pay packet, a full belly and was at the start of another furlough. He'd traded some rolled tobacco for a twelve ounce flask of scotch, and was holding court in the mens' barracks, where a few select soldiers would join him at the round wooden table for cards. He puffed on a cigarillo, smoke wafting lazily toward the rafters.

The barracks were bustling; some soldiers preparing to go into the nearby town, and about four newly-minted Survey Corps boys settling in. In about half an hour, Mikasa Ackerman would glide in through the door, cross wits with Lance Corporal Marco Bott and ice out Jean Kirschstein entirely, while stripping him of his last piece of silver at the poker table. The whole thing made his cock hard as hell.

His face split in a genuine, toothy smile when Military Assistant Armin Arlert sauntered in and threw his rucksack up onto his seldom-occupied bunk.

"Hiya, Crazy!" Jean greeted him. "slumming it tonight, are we?"

Armin nodded at Jean, quirking an eyebrow. 

"Fuck, you're a pretty kid," Jean chuckled. "It hurt like hell to smash in that sweet face," he held both hands over his heart, "Honest to fuck, it did my heart in."

Armin shook his head and started to strip off his harness. Kirschstein ambled up beside him, slung an arm around his neck and shook him a little. "You're not sore at me Crazy, are you?"

Armin sighed in exasperation. "No. But you won't knock me over so easily again, big man."

Jean planted a delighted kiss onto Armin's head. He had noticed Armin's improvement after just a few weeks of retraining. "Atta boy."

Armin crawled up into his bunk space and lay down on his belly, arms folded in front and chin on the back of his hands to watch the goings on. His body felt like it was full of broken glass. Blisters had turned into bruises, which were fast becoming callouses. Levi had watched him fly for two days. He had said very little. On the third day, he adjusted Armin's harness, tweaking, tightening, loosening. 

"You aren't doing the work," Levi told him. "At first you were so small, you could let the gas carry you, like a baby monkey. Your body core needs to do the work. Propulsion only helps."

The re-jig had felt awkward as hell, but it had the odd effect of Armin becoming much more surefooted when he landed and accelerated.

Levi had adjusted his sword grip. He had rigged up a dual exhaust port for Armin, at the sides, so that one port could flip from back to front. He then taught Armin how to spin like a slicing machine and ravage the practice dummies. He had stripped the boy down. Taught him to breathe. To observe. To punch, to kick, to fight at close range. He had bloodied him, punished him, brutalized him and broken him. Armin had never felt so alive.

Armin's bluebell eyes snapped open, to notice Connie Springer in the top bunk directly opposite.

"Hey!" Armin greeted him. "You're here tonight?"

"Aye," the wiry soldier replied. "I brought her a barn kitten and she adored it. Went nuts and fucked me so raw that I need a break. You?"

"Same," Armin said evenly.

He felt the bed frame wobble, and ducked his blond head down to see who was in Eren's old bed. A tall, skinny, kid with close-shaven white-blond hair and a weaselly face grinned at him.

"Who're you?" Armin asked him.

"Wat?" the kid replied loudly.

"I said, who are you?"

 _"Wat!"_ was the answer again, even louder.

Befuddled, Armin looked over at Connie.

"He's called Walter Sturgess," Connie supplied. "But he's a bit hard of hearing, so everyone calls him 'Wat?'"

"Oh," and then back to Wat, quite loudly: "Welcome! I'm Arlert. Where'd you transfer in from?"

"Artillery!" shouted Wat.

"Arlert, you little prick," Kirschstein called, "get your ass over here. You're sitting in on this game." Armin slipped off his bunk, joining the men at the card table. It did not occur to him that on any other night, he would have remained politely and timidly buttoned up in his bunk, nose buried in a book.

_____________________________________

Saccrococcygeus. _Sac-cro-coc-cy-geus._ Eren's eyes burned. The word swam in front of him. He picked up his pencil and divided the word into sections, the way Erwin had shown him, hiding sections under a piece of paper so he could only see one syllable at a time.

"Saccrococcygeus!" He looked at the diagram again, "Oh fuck, well that's just a long word for tail, isn't it?

Sasha's little orange kitten looked up at him with huge, grey eyes. She had called it Milo, and it followed Eren around, obsessively sniffing at him.

He bowed his head into the horse book again. "Gluteal fascia. _Tensor_ fascia." He got up and wrote the words on the whitewashed wall of the room. There were over sixty words written by the door. Eren could spell most of them from memory now.

He paused. He took his charcoal stick and wrote A-r-m-i-n. It was the second word he had ever learned to spell, after E-r-e-n. He missed Armin. They'd spent very few nights together in the past two weeks. In bed at night, he held Armin's forgotten nightshirt against his face and inhaled the sweet, warm boy-scent. He fantasized about new ways to touch and lick and suck Armin, to draw those sweet, plaintive little cries out of him, which sounded exactly like Eren was hurting him, only he wasn't.

Sometimes now, his thoughts nudged forward and he dared to think about sharing a small cottage with Armin. A home. Commander Smith was right. To have such hopes in the face of what the world currently offered was painful. But for the first time, Eren was regularly picturing himself as a man first; maybe a breeder, a farmer, career military…but a man first, rather than a beast.

He picked up the book, the kitten and the lamp and struggled down the ladder, padding down the row of resting horses to Cricket's stall.

He cooed softly to her and she nudged against his tanned cheek as he bent his head, his soft, chestnut fringe tickling her muzzle.

He put Milo on the ledge and the book on an overturned crate.

"Oy, Eren?" he jumped.

"Sash, you scared me!" he looked up at her. Sasha wore a pale green nightdress to her ankles, a knitted sweater bristling with pompoms, and over all of this a holster and flintlocks. Her warm brown hair hung in a plait over one shoulder.

Eren guffawed. "That lovely outfit must've made Connie run all the way back to Ragako!"

"Shut your hole," she grinned. "I'm a beauty, never mind. What're you doing?"

"Here," he handed Sasha the lamp. "Since you're up, will you help me?"

Eren ran his finger over the terms with more confidence. Speaking softly to Cricket, he ran his hands down her flank. "Gluteal fascia. Tensor fascia. Sa…saccrococcygeus!"

Sasha chuckled. "Great cracked Walls, Eren, that's just her bloody _tail_ , ain't it?


	7. River's Sweet Echo

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What we have here is a whole lot of sweet naughty time. You have been warned...

When humanity finally finished building the new walls, reclaiming the territory dubbed the 'blister', the great river's flow was successfully diverted. Water rushed, cold and clear through the valley, drenching the dry riverbed.

The blister's new fortifications combined walls of several storeys in height with wide pit traps into which the odd titan fell, never to escape. The pit system had been Armin's brainchild; something about Hannibal and elephants.

Levi's squad occupied the blister during the water diversion, cheering and whooping when the water came, roaring like a dragon into the valley below. Across their mounted line, Eren's eyes met Armin's, both faces flushed with triumph. Captain Levi was cautiously optimistic and wanted to tour the fortifications one final time to check for flaws. "Kirschstein. Arlert. Eren," he beckoned them to follow.

Armin urged Caesar forward, riding loose and tall in the saddle. Cricket and Eren caught up, and Armin's deep blue gaze slid sideways. "He asked for me," Armin said softly, eyes shining with a quiet pride. 

In the days that followed, Eren found himself drawn to Armin constantly. Whether a subtle change had taken place in Armin, in himself, or a combination of both, he felt a deepening ache in his bones at even the mention of his lover.

They were packing their saddlebags to go camping at the river on furlough. The autumn air was unseasonably warm; summer giving her last fair gasp, the low sun painting the forests in a blaze of colour. Warm afternoon light slanted in through the barn windows, catching Armin's profile, making his pale hair and lashes glint.

Eren walked around Cricket, touched Armin gently on the shoulder, took his lover's face in both his hands and captured Armin's lips in a soft, slow kiss. 

_________________________

They rode around the escarpment, to where Captain Levi had brought Armin [ _to murder me in the forest, chuckled Armin_ ], and into the forest itself. Finally, the trees thinned and the river hooked in a long lazy elbow, making calm tide pools that swirled around fallen trees and smooth rocks. Here there was a lay-by for the horses with a trough and hitching rail and a stretch of riverbank where the young men set up a regiment tent for shelter.

Armin and Eren made a fire in a small stone circle and when it died down to embers, they roasted some jacket potatoes and drank cider. Armin told Eren about "Wat!" the semi-deaf gunner sleeping in Eren's old bunk. Eren tried to explain Sasha's annoyance with horse anatomy words - all headache and no common sense. The tales seemed richer in the retelling, because Eren and Armin were together again.

The sun dipped below the escarpment, staining the sky the colour of blood oranges. Eren had chucked some crab apples at Armin, which led to Armin lunging at Eren, wrestling him to the ground and immobilizing him as Levi had taught him to do.

"Oh…." Eren laughed evilly…"You'll get away with this once," he thrashed ineffectually, " _one time,_ Armin…." But, as was always the case, Armin's laughter was his undoing and he found himself upended, held around the waist and being hauled toward the river. 

"No," he cried, "Eren, _don't!_ We need dry clothes, we…"

Eren dropped Armin like a sack of onions, pulled off his own jacket, stripped naked and stepped into the river. Armin sat on the bank, watching Eren wade in to mid-thigh, enjoying the view of smooth, toffee skin, broad shoulders and firm, well-muscled backside. Eren stood there for some minutes, listening to the life that had rediscovered the river; bullfrogs, crickets, mournful doves, humming insects.

He heard a gasp and a splash, then Armin's head bobbed out of the water, gasping, "E-Eren! It's not that cold! It's fine!" Eren dove neatly into the river. 

The evening light was fading quickly. The still water was thigh-deep in the eddy where they swam. Armin stood up out of the water, looking at the opposite bank. To Eren's great surprise, he wore his MG harness. And only that. Skin pale as marble, the dark straps of the harness framed the small, peach-shaped bottom enticingly. 

Eren stared, captivated. "What," he breathed, "what the _hell_ have you got that on for?"

"I wore it under my clothes. All my gear's laid out beside the saddlebags. I can be armed in _two minutes flat_ and ready to slice titans. Just in case," he ducked his head, smiling a beguiling little smile, "there happen to _be_ any."

He turned to face Eren, nipples in stiff little peaks, pink cock starting to thicken and twitch. "God, Eren… _God,_ I've missed you….

_________________________________________

Eren held his boy in chest deep water where the river was calm, by a huge, fallen tree. Only a thin, pink slash of daylight remained, to the west. Stars were appearing. Armin pressed against Eren's warm torso, legs circling his waist. They whimpered softly, mouths locked together in wet, rhythmic kisses. Eren ran his hands over Armin's submerged skin, fingers meeting the harness, tugging gently, slipping underneath it, playing with it. "You can't get away from me now," he teased softly. "I've got this harness to pull on," Armin looked at him, wet lashes clumped, blue eyes enormous. He nipped Eren on the mouth.

"Ow!" Eren leaned in, kissing and sucking on the smaller boy's mouth, backing him up against a large fallen tree. 

Eren let go of Armin for a second, then bracing his elbows, put his hands on Armin's hips and lifted his lover out of the water, sitting him on the fallen tree. In the dusky gloom, Eren regarded his sweet prize in harness. 

The log felt slick beneath Armin's backside, the breeze raising gooseflesh on his pale skin. He closed his eyes, feeling Eren's warm cheek against his cold thigh. Eren made a low noise in his throat, then his teeth found the tender flesh of Armin's inner thigh, nipping and sucking the smooth, wet skin. Armin hissed a little at the pain. Eren moved closer, pushing Armin's knees apart, nearly flat against the log. Armin moaned softly, the sound rising into a sharp whine as Eren ran his hot, wet tongue up the length of Armin's cock, lapping at the pretty, plum head with little flicks. Eren laved him again, tongue working against the soft knot of skin on the tender underside. 

 _"Eren…"_ it came out as a hoarse little plea. Armin threaded his fingers into Eren's dark hair. "Eren, _please, please…."_

"Please what?" the soft voice asked. "Please take you in my mouth? Please suck you? Please make my little boy come?" 

"Yes," Armin panted. "Yes, please, _everything…"_

Eren's hot, wet mouth sucked him in, teasingly, then let him pop free, slapping against his belly.

"Aah!" 

"Poor baby," Eren whispered. He pressed his palm against Armin's pubic bone, finger and thumb massaging the base of his boy's cock in soft circles. He took Armin's length into his mouth again, allowing the velvety head to slide against the back of his throat, his lips and tongue swirling softly and his head moving up and down. 

As much as he tried not to hurt Eren, Armin's fingers tightened in the dark hair and his slim hips pumped greedily against Eren's mouth. 

Eren wrapped his other hand around Armin's shaft, calloused fingers milking firmly, lips sucking and swirling deliciously.

"No," Armin sobbed, "no….God….. _ohhh….Eren!"_

Armin shuddered, his small body wracked with pleasure. His cock twitched in Eren's mouth, hot seed spurting down his throat, which Eren swallowed, slowing his hand gently. 

He lowered his shivering doll back down against his body, murmuring and comforting softly... "Time for bed."

________________________________

The tiny fire had died down to ruby embers. Eren took the fleece bedrolls and stacked them inside the tent. They crawled inside, shivering now and grateful for the warmth of the fleece. 

"I am going to guess," Eren said gently, "that we won't meet any random titans right now," he began unbuckling Armin's harness. And if we do, I'll have to shift and show them my…less cheerful side."

He freed Armin's legs, chest and back. Armin sighed contentedly, laying on his belly and wriggling into the thick fleece bed roll.  

Eren Jaeger adored his lover. He ran his large warm hands through the damp blond hair, grazed the soft nape. He stroked Armin's lean back and shoulders, trailing his fingers over the purple bruises Levi's regimen had left. His hand dipped across Armin's lower back, then stroked the taut, round cheeks of his behind. Eren stroked and caressed him for a long time. Armin unconsciously parted his thighs, allowing the caresses to dip between his legs, graze his balls, stroke his cock. His sighs gradually became hot moans as he stiffened again, rubbing his erection against the soft bedding.

Eren lay alongside him, lips caressing the shell of Armin's ear. "To whom do you belong?" he asked softly.

"I…I.."

Eren's strong hand slapped Armin's ass.

"Tell me," A pause. He spanked him again.

The blows sent waves of soft pleasure straight to Armin's cock. Last time Eren walloped him, it had been playful, and he'd yelped and giggled. This time, it felt incredibly sensuous, and intimate.

"Say it…" Eren spanked him, just hard enough to turn his bottom a rosy colour. Armin's mind was mush; in one afternoon he'd gone from being Levi's combat soldier to being Eren's sweet, slutty little doll, arching his bottom up for Eren's hand, again and again.

"Yours," he gasped…"I'm yours…"

In a flash, Eren had hold of Armin's blond hair, tugging gently backward and sliding fingers slick with saddle cream against the crease of his bottom. He pushed his fingers in to the second knuckle, Armin crying out at the burn.

Eren's voice was rough. "If you say stop, I will stop." Armin nodded as the fingers began to fuck his little hole, none too gently. Eren pulled them out, wriggling around so that he knelt at Armin's face.

"Open," the pink lips parted. Eren groaned as Armin took his thick erection into his pliant, wet mouth, whining sweetly the whole time. He slid in to the hilt and slowly out again. 

Sighing, he pulled out, rolled Armin onto his back and lowered his strong body on top of the slender blond. "I want your skin against my skin," he murmured, "I want you just like this," he pushed inside of Armin, the tight silky heat making him cry out, and rocked Armin in his arms, sinking deeper and deeper into his body. 

"Closer," Eren panted. Armin hooked his heels over the backs of Eren's thighs, gripping Eren's tight ass with both hands, feeling it flex as Eren claimed him, fucking him harder.

 _"Closer…baby…"_ Eren pressed as close as humanly possible, wrapping his arms around Armin and kissing him hard and hungrily. The inky night dissolved into a haze of pleasure as Eren came, hot and hard, over and over….

__________________________________

A few weeks later, the first frost came. The horses stamped and snorted, puffing clouds of breath into the chilly stable.

"Have to keep the doors closed now," Sasha commented. "No help for it."

Eren had requisitioned thicker blankets for the stalls, and had gone around with his tools, tightening loose bolts and hinges against the coming winds of winter.

Last of all, he took a piece of cedar signboard, and in his neatest hand, he lettered: 'RIVER'S SWEET ECHO'

Underneath, in letters which were smaller, but meant the whole world to him, he painted, 'CRICKET'.

 


	8. For Subscribers

Just a note for those of you subscribed to 'Crickit'.

'Crickit' is part of an ongoing fic series called **'Voices in the Bone'**.

You can follow  **Eren & Armin's ongoing story** in this AU, per the ordered list here:

[VIB 1: THE PEARL OASIS HOTEL](http://archiveofourown.org/works/1662821/chapters/3528128)

[VIB 2: CRICKIT](http://archiveofourown.org/works/1677971/chapters/3564116)

[VIB 3: ROLL CALL](http://archiveofourown.org/works/1737947)

[VIB 4: RED MOLLY’S REACH](http://archiveofourown.org/works/1776895/chapters/3805234)

*Chapters 1,2 & Epilogue contain material for this story arc. This fic. also contains three reincarnation AU flashback stories for Armin & Levi, which are not crucial to this story arc.

[VIB 5: MY PLUS ONE](http://archiveofourown.org/works/1781833)

[VIB 6: CAN’T YOU HEAR IT?](http://archiveofourown.org/works/1799263/chapters/3858298)

Thank you very much for reading my fics! :)

**Author's Note:**

> I want to thank http://burpingstars.tumblr.com/ for creating Eremin Week II, which led me to create this AU. I hope readers have enjoyed my interpretation of these Attack on Titan characters. 
> 
> Thanks to all who made the time to read the story, and I really hope it was enjoyable!!


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